Advocates push for trap-neuter-release approach to management

For more than 30 years Seaford Scallop Company ran its seafood business with only an occasional intrusion from a pesky raccoon. But this summer the company inexplicably had an influx of feral cats that quickly inundated the property.

"I don't think we've had this problem to the extent we have now," said General Manager Bill Wells said.

Wells estimated that earlier this summer there were 15 cats roaming around the business located on Shirley Road in York County. He has no idea what has caused the sudden flood of cats. The company has a Dumpster on its property that attracts cats looking for food, but Wells said the Dumpster has been there for years.

"None of us seem to understand why the problem happened this year," he said.

Feral cats aren't isolated to the Seaford area of York County. Nine miles away in historic Yorktown, Beverly Krams must walk her 120 pound Scottish Deerhound named Willie in her fenced-in backyard on a leash because of a colony of feral cats that lives near Krams' home on Church Street.

"The feral cats will run and (the dog) will grab them," she said.

Krams, whose family has lived in Yorktown for many years, said there have always been feral cats in the area, but in recent years the problem has escalated. She said in addition to the five cats that live near her home there are colonies of feral cats that live near the Yorktown Pub on Water Street and the York-Poquoson Courthouse on Ballard Street.

On a recent evening Krams tossed some scraps to the cats. As she called them, cats began creeping out of bushes and from under shrubs. She pointed out the multiple generations of kittens and young adults that came from the same mother that has had multiple litters.

Krams wants to find a way to reduce the number of cats without turning to euthanasia. She said she just wants her dog to be able to roam in his own backyard.

"I consider it a major problem," she said. "I have a real problem in that I can't let (the dog) loose in my own yard."

Trap-Neuter-Return

York County is just one of many localities dealing with feral cats. In recent years the issue has grown to be a problem across the region from New Kent to Hampton.

Feral cats can be a nuisance to property owners by tearing up yards and lawn furniture and walking on cars. They are also potential carriers of the rabies virus and can pose a threat to people and other animals.

A few feral cats can quickly turn into a larger problem. Vicki Rowland, director of marketing and programs for the Peninsula SPCA, said that cats have a rapid reproductive cycle that allows for multiple litters in a year. Additionally, Rowland said, kittens can reproduce before the age of one.

"When you think of that cycle and a litter of kittens, it's just a dangerous mix," she said.

Rowland said the SPCA will take trapped feral cats from Newport News, Hampton, York and Poquoson. Most of the time feral cats are unadoptable and have to be euthanized, she said.

The SPCA promotes a concept known as trap-neuter-return to manage feral cats, Rowland said. The idea is to capture the cats to vaccinate and spay or neuter them and then release them back into the area where they were captured.

Michael Rhodes, director of communications and outreach for the Heritage Humane Society, which serves Williamsburg, James City County and upper York County, said his shelter also supports the trap-neuter-return approach.

Rhodes said returning feral cats to their original location alleviates a number of problems. New cats are less likely to be accepted into the group, which reduces the number of cats in the colony. Cats that have been spayed or neutered can no longer reproduce, which allows the colony to end through attrition.

Heritage Humane Society works with the nonprofit group Pawsitively Precious to target feral cats in the Williamsburg area. Brenda Dulski, founder of Pawsitively Precious, started her work with feral cats about 10 years ago and has begun to see the positive impacts of implementing trap-neuter-return.

Dulski said one of the first areas she targeted was near the Princess Anne Motel on Richmond Road in Williamsburg, where she estimated there were about 75 cats. In the first year she trapped and returned about 47 cats. Currently there are only about five cats left, she said.

Cat colonies

Local governments have taken different approaches to deal with feral cats. Newport News and Hampton have feral cat ordinances, while James City and York have kept their efforts more informal.

Hampton adopted a feral cat ordinance in 2004. Newport News adopted a similar ordinance in 2005. The ordinances require anyone caring for feral cats to register as a caretaker with Animal Control. Registered caretakers assume responsibility for the cats' veterinary care, including having the animals spayed and neutered. Caretakers are also required to get permission from adjacent property owners to care for a feral cat colony.

Under the ordinances anyone caring for feral cats without the proper approval can be ticketed and fined.